And the fun begins: Retro Loveseat

[kodydog]

My experience tells me the deeper the holes the better the pleats lay. And the firmer the foam the better the pleats and the whole job look.

The thickness of the back foam will be dictated by how much room the seat has. Set some different sizes in there and decide what feels best. 2" or 3" are my favorites.

Do the same for the density of the foam. I would not use a soft foam but on the other hand you don't want it so firm it is uncomfortable. Keep in mind those marshel units will make it feel a little softer and keep in mind the tufting will add some firmness to it.

You can top it off with Dacron but my favorite is cotton.

The best advice I can give someone who is starting a tufting job for the first time is don't pull the fire out of the buttons when first poking them into the fabric. I like to pull them about 3/4 of the way into the hole. This lets you go back later and make adjustments as needed. When your done there will most likely be 2 or 3 buttons that will need slight adjustments, vertically or horizontally. This will require removing the button and re-poking it. You will be surprised how a 3/32nd inch adjustment makes a big difference. 

[MinUph]

Just a layer of cotton.

[65Buick]

Just thinking ahead - I do have some large needles. Do I need the tufting needle Osborne #417?

[MinUph]

Not if you can get to the back of the piece. That is used to replace a button from the front only.

[kodydog]

The needle I use for tufting is 18" long. I have owned this same needle almost as long as I've been upholstering furniture. I'm sure I could use a smaller needle to get the job done but the 18 incher comes in handy for many other uses like stringing buttons through the ends of a bolster.

I also own a needle similar to the one you ask about. Like Paul said it is used to replace a button. I have replaced many buttons, for a fee, using this tool.

[65Buick]

I now see why the marshall units were used (I think).
With 3" of spring, plus 3" foam behind, I have to sit way far back to get support from the backrest. With this design, you'd have to waste a whole bunch of foam to build it up right.
I plan to go with with the original, 3" foam, 3" spring, 1" foam, cotton, hopefully that will be enough.

[MinUph]

What did it have before you stripped it? How thick?

[65Buick]

Got it all padded up. Now the hard part.

Found a little hole saw I used for tile - works great for cutting holes in foam. Hope it's the right size.

http://gdurl.com/1iMp


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I did this little practice piece on 1" foam.
http://gdurl.com/tGEW

When I poke the needle through, am I poking it through pleats? Or is it just not tight because I didn't upholster it to wood or something sturdy?

[MinUph]

When you tuft onto 1" foam and it is all new you can do it by layout. top to bottom is a finish size and left to right add 1/4" per inch. So if you have a layout 4h x 4w you can layout on the fabric 4" high by 5" wide and mark the back. That will allow the fabric to fold. Your not going to get deep tufting with 1" of filling but it can still be tufting.

[65Buick]

Here's a little shot of the better measurements. I didn't measure super precisely being a practice. But it did fold nicely.

http://gdurl.com/uE8f


I still have the opportunity to ditch the marshall units on the backrest and go straight foam, but I actually think this light tufting shows off the crystal buttons better. The armrests are padded with only foam.

[MinUph]

Crystal buttons. Pretty snazzy. I have some of those. Havent had a use for them.

[65Buick]

Thanks. Trying to offer something different that you can't get anywhere else. Something to help define by business.

I looked all over and watched videos - still can't tell how the top of the backrest and armrest is buttoned. Do I just button it right to back of the foam with a slipknot and something to prevent it from pulling through? It appeared previously the twine was stapled to the back of the frame. And I've stapled the foam to the top, which I will have to undo otherwise I can't get to to anything.

[MinUph]

You need to fasten to more than the foam behind the buttons on the top of the arms etc. Just run the needle at and angle to get through to the rail where it can be staplese to the frame.

[kodydog]

Are you using a little piece of cotton between the slip knot and the foam? This helps prevent the knot from slipping through.

[65Buick]

Yes Kody using cotton at the back.
Just debating about the piecing of fabric. When I looked at the original photo it appeared to me that they skipped one button on the armrest so they could sew a section on. I would prefer not to skip. I may have enough fabric that I could sew two big pieces together and make the entire thing tufted without skipping
Only reason I think they did this was to save fabric. I see no other reason why.